June 25, 2012

On a hot summer day, who doesn't crave a cocktail that is cold, fresh, and lemony? Well, it is damned hot here in Capri, and this island is covered with hearty citrus dripping with huge lemons so Limoncello it is!

Capri dons its fair share of sunburned tourists,
mega yachts, bejeweled sandals, and bad dance music blasting into the
night. Beneath the glitz, there is a heartwarming undercurrent of
luscious gardens producing not decorative flowers to please the
tourists, but loads of happy fruits and veggies. If you step away from the piazzetta and wander the narrow walking paths, you find nestled amongst the
hotels and luxury villas humble, country-style gardens bursting with food - kiwis, squash, grapes, tomatoes, green beans, arugula, figs, rosemary, kumquats, olives. Glamour isn't the only priority on Capri, clearly the folks here care about the homegrown food as well. I dig that.

I wanted to share a little taste of the island with you guys and many claim that Limoncello finds its origins on Capri. The chilled sweet citrusy liquor is a nice end to dinner on a summer's evening. It takes a bit of patience to make your own (curing takes 2-4 weeks), but I think it's worth the wait.

Note: Use organic lemons, if you can. The drink gets
its flavor not from the juice of the lemon, but from its peel, and that's where most of the pesticides reside in non-organic lemons.

6 lemons (Sorrento Lemons are used in Italy. Meyers are a nice American substitute.)

1 750 ml bottle vodka

1 1/2 cup sugar

Wash all lemons. Use a vegetable peeler to peel each lemon (try to avoid getting much pith, the white underbelly of the peel). Place the peels in a jar large enough to hold both the peels and the entire bottle of vodka. Cover peels with the vodka. Cover the jar and place in a cool spot for 2 weeks allowing the vodka to become infused with the lemon flavor. (Use the now-peeled lemons to make a nice lemonade to enjoy right now, because your Limoncello will take a while to cure.)

After two weeks of curing, make a simple syrup by combining 3 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups of sugar in a medium saucepan on the stove top. Heat and stir until all sugar is dissolved. Set aside simple syrup until cool. In the meantime, strain lemon peels from the vodka and discard the peels. When the simple syrup has cooled, add it to the lemony vodka. Cover again and let cure for at least another 5 days and up to two weeks before drinking. If you can remember, agitate the bottle once a day.

Keep your liquor in the freezer so that it's nice and cold whenever you are ready to serve it up.

Do you make your own Limoncello? P recently made Limoncello at home in Berkeley. It was delicious, but a little too sweet and without enough of a kick for me. We have yet to make this NY Times recipe, but it looks pretty darned good. When we get home, we'll experiment with some new batches. Maybe add some herbs. If you have any delicious tips to share with the rest of us, we'd love to hear...

75 comments:

I've made my own limoncello at home, and my advice is to use the 95% pure alcohol instead of vodka if you can get some (in Italy it's available in every supermarket) since it extracts all the essential lemon oil from the peels much bettter. you need to add a bit more sugar in that case.

My parents have a house in italy and their neighbours once gave them a bottle of homemade limoncello. Sadly they weren't as talented cooks/drink makers as you, and apparently it tasted so synthetic and disgusting that my Dad threw the whole bottle away. The neighbours then came round a couple of days later, saw the empty bottle and forced another 2 on him thinking he'd loved it so much that he'd drunk it all!

Your version looks much more delicious, and your photos are simply stunning :-)

All the food on that island is a dream. Love the figs too. I think to get that real lemon kick, I wouldn't use Meyer lemons, just regular lemons. This is something I want to try because you get two different beverages (lemonade for kiddies).

Angela, interesting idea about not using Meyers. I have heard that they work well from other food-lovers, but maybe I'll try both regular and Meyers lemons the next go around. I want to perfect the recipe. Yum!xoE

Oh Erin, everything is so beautiful, and it brings up such vivid memories of my own:) I stayed with my mum in both Sorrento, and on the nearby island of Procida. Such beautiful scenery, lively people, and massive football-esque lemons! We were there over Easter, and were lucky enough to witness a powerful and somewhat frightening Easter parade. What. A. Place.

I've long meant to make my own limoncello, but just haven't done it yet. I hope you and your family are enjoying your vacation!

I make my limoncello with grain alcohol. I use a large jar with wide mouth and plenty of head room above the alcohol, then I place the lemons in cheese cloth and hang them above the alcohol cover the jar and wait. Looks awesome in the curing state and taste wonderful!

Love the pictures! What a wonderful drink for this time of year, a great kick off. I had never heard of Meyer lemons until Martha Stewart brought it forward... the other is more....how can I say....Italian? My Aunt is from Sicily. For those of you who can't eat or drink corn for allergies and can't have regular distilled Vodka, try a potato based vodka http://vodka.findthebest.com/d/d/Potato and have a good time.

I feel that way about wheat. Here in Italy all of my friends are eating delicious pizza and I'm living vicariously. You can almost taste the good stuff you remember but can no longer indulge in, can't you?

I have a jar of homemade limoncello in my cabinet right now! Your recipe looks about identical to mine. I think maybe it's time to mix it with sparkling water and halved cherries for long, lazy summer afternoon drinks, don't you?

I, too, have a beautiful sleek little jar of limoncello that I bought in Italy a few years back. I loved the two little skinny jars and the beautiful tags on them. Have a wonderful time on Capri. This is the second blog post on Capri that I have read this week!

Hi Erin,I have a bottle of limoncello that my sister-in-law in Vermont made from Meyer lemons that I brought her from Berkeley. It's too sweet and not lemony enough. I think I'd use regular lemons if I were to try it myself. Meyer lemons are great for too many other things to waste them on limoncello!!

Ustabahippie, Nice to hear from you:)We had the same issue with our batch of Limoncello. I am learning so much from all of this great feedback. I'm looking forward to more experimenting when we get back to Berkeley. Doesn't Carolyn's idea of Buddha Hand Limoncello sound delish?

I love the idea of using different kinds of lemons. I saw some really lumpy, ugly lemons at the farmer's market today, and thought of limoncello. I need to think of a good way to use up the bottle that I have. Maybe limoncello panna cotta!

Gosh, I'd love to visit Capri! I love hearing all about your travels. I'm such a homebody, I'm lucky if I make it out of the house! Maybe in a few more years...I've never made a really good limoncello, but dang if I'll keep trying. I've heard many of the comments made here (don't use Meyers, use grain alcohol, etc.) but can't offer my first hand opinion. I should just give up, because surely the best way to make limoncello is with fruit that is local, and that's not happening in my neck o' the woods!

hi ErinThanks for the limoncello on capri recipe.I'll create one for sure, my dad are gonna like it :)If you don't mind, can you submit your limoncello on capri photo in http://www.foodporn.net ?It's a food photography site full of all DIY food pictures from members around the world. submit by yourself and let me know when you did, so I can share it.

I've made my own limoncello from homegrown Meyer lemons once. Since then, my tree hasn't produced enough lemons in one year. So to make it I've had to add store-bought lemons too. Love it. Although, I'd much rather visit Capri and enjoy the limoncello there!

Loving your highlights of Capri - so want to go there. Since it is super hot there during the summer, might opt for later or earlier. Love limoncello. Made it one year and gave away as gifts. Used simple vodka and really great lemons. Super easy to make! Enjoy your holiday get-a-way!

Lisa, it was SO hot on Capri. Somehow I didn't get the memo on that one. I've heard that September and October are the ideal time for Capri. I think that's so true of much of Europe. Not possible for my teacher husband or the kids. Summertime it is for us and I really cannot complain!

I loved Capri. One of my favorite cities in Italia. Aside from the beautiful yellow glow there, the roaming cats were also fun to see. I cheated and purchased a bottle of Limoncello instead of making my own. But I've always wanted to try, sounds easy!

When I hear "Capri" I remember the bus ride between Capri and Anacapri. I couldn't fully enjoy the out of this world view because I kept my eyes closed almost the whole time, praying.Anyway, paradise on earth!

Anna, my husband was the same way on that passage along the cliff! I thought he might pass out with terror. But Anacapri was worth it. I really appreciated how sleepy that side of the island was compared with the main square.